Something for ‘Everyone’

Let’s get down to brass tacks: John Fogerty is one of America’s best songwriters. Ever. If you have any doubts about that, just check out “Chronicle, Vol. 1” the 1976 greatest hits collection released by his band Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1976. This is just about as great as it gets.

With his evocative songwriting, incendiary guitar work and passionate vocals, Fogerty combined country roots, blues fire and rock and roll ruckus into a sound that was America on wax. From CCR’s self-titled 1968 debut to the present, Fogerty reigns supreme.

The man’s newest album, a celebration of his body of work titled “Wrote a Song for Everyone” is a joy. Fogerty partners with youngsters and fellow rock ‘n’ roll journeymen to cast 14 of his tunes in new lights.

The highlights here are the unexpected moments: banjo in hand, Keith Urban helps Fogerty turn the relative obscurity “Almost Saturday Night” into a down-home party anthem, Laurel Canyon revivalists Dawes breathe new sentiment into the heartbreaking ballad “Someday Never Comes” just in time for Father’s Day and Bob Seeger re-casts “Who’ll Stop the Rain” into an arrangement closer to his own “Against the Wind.”

One of the most surprising delights on this set is Fogerty’s gift for harmony. After years front and center as a bandleader and solo artist, he shows a real talent for blending his voice with others’. Just check out his vocal dance with Jim James on My Morning Jacket’s shimmering run through “Long As I Can See the Light.”

Not everything works here: Dave Grohl and his fellow Foo Fighters sound like they’re just trying way to hard on “Fortunate Son.” The performance feels strained and kicks off the album on an awkward note. And it’s a shame that a song as cool as “Born on the Bayou” was wasted on someone as cheesy as Kid Rock. The song’s blues core is swapped for an over-processed pop sheen.

After a few tunes, the proceedings also start to feel a little formulaic: the guest vocalist sings one verse, Fogerty sings the next part, then the two harmonize. But when everything clicks, it’s a beautiful thing, like on the album’s new title track: Miranda Lambert does contemporary country proud, Fogerty is in fine form and then Tom Morello brings it all home with a barn-raising guitar solo.

All in all, on “Wrote a Song for Everyone” Fogerty and friends do right by the man’s legendary catalog.

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About Alex Biese

An Asbury Park Press staff writer since 2005, Alex Biese is a proud member of the local music community, both as a journalist and a musician. Along with his work for the Press, he has written for outlets including MTV.com and Film Festival today magazine.

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About the Author

Alex BieseAn Asbury Park Press staff writer since 2005, Alex Biese is a proud member of the local music community, both as a journalist and a musician. Along with his work for the Press, he has written for outlets including MTV.com and Film Festival today magazine.E-mail Alex

Jean MikleJean Mikle has worked at the Asbury Park Press for more than 20 years, most recently as an investigative reporter on the Projects Team. In her "other life," she’s a fan and proponent of the Asbury Park music scene, both then (Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Southside Johnny Lyon) and now (Wave Gathering, The Stone Pony, The Saint) and all sorts of new music.E-mail Jean